Jeff Vespa/WireImage/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — On AMC’s Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston plays a science teacher who becomes a crystal-meth dealer and a murderer, but the actor confesses to Men’s Journal magazine that has experienced his own dark side in real life.

Cranston says he once had a drug-addicted girlfriend who refused to accept their relationship was finished, and he attempted to break up with her several times before having what he called an “out of body experience.”

The actor tells the magazine at that moment, he realized that, “given the right circumstances, I was capable of doing very bad things. Everyone is. It was the most amazing, uncomfortable experience of my life.”

Cranston has earned three Emmy Awards for his portrayal of science teacher Walter White on Breaking Bad, and is nominated once again this year for outstanding lead actor in a drama series.